ADPD starts constitutional bid for parliamentary seat: '4,747 votes are being ignored'

ADPD has filed a constitutional case in order to be granted a seat in parliament, saying that the party’s first count votes are being ignored.

“In a healthy democracy, every vote counts. All votes have an equal value. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Malta! We will defend the value of each vote. A vote cast for ADPD  is equal in value to those cast in favour of the PLPN,” ADPD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said in a press conference outside the law courts in Valletta on Wednesday.

Cacopardo said the party has been insisting for quite some time that electoral legislation is discriminatory because it gives weight to votes cast for the two parliamentary parties and ignores those cast for others.

“This is the result of two specific measures: one dealing with proportionality and the other dealing with gender balance. Both measures are designed to benefit the PLPN and discriminate against us, the third party, and others. The discrimination we are facing is an integral part of electoral legislation by design,” he said.

On Monday, it was announced that the electoral results would be adjusted with the addition of two MPs from the list of candidates presented by the Nationalist Party.

This is a result of a proportionality adjustment between the votes obtained at first count by the political parties making it to parliament and the parliamentary seats won.

Cacopardo said that when this adjustment was carried out, the votes obtained at first count by ADPD amounting to 4,747 were ignored.

“These votes amount to more than the national quota. This discrimination devalues the democratic process as it gives weight to votes cast in favour of  Partit Laburista and Partit Nazzjonalista but completely ignores the votes cast for ADPD,” he said.

Cacopardo added that the final stage of the electoral process would be implemented in the coming days. He said that 12 seats would be added after the casual elections, six on either side, as part of the corrective gender mechanism.

“This will add to the existing problems of parliamentary representation by further inflating the parliamentary seats of PLPN to the detriment of the rest. The proportionality principle, already very weak, will be further eroded.”

“We are requesting the Courts to find that there has been a breach of several human rights protected in terms of Malta’s Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights,” he said.

Cacopardo said that the party expected the courts to identify suitable remedies to address the discrimination which had already taken place when the PN was awarded additional parliamentary seats and the votes obtained by ADPD were ignored.

“We also seek the Courts’ protection from further discrimination which will occur in the coming days when the provisions of the gender balance corrective mechanism are applied.”